Protein phosphatase 2A cooperates with the autophagy-related kinase UNC-51 to regulate axon guidance in Caenorhabditis elegans

Development. 2010 May;137(10):1657-67. doi: 10.1242/dev.050708. Epub 2010 Apr 14.

Abstract

UNC-51 is a serine/threonine protein kinase conserved from yeast to humans. The yeast homolog Atg1 regulates autophagy (catabolic membrane trafficking) required for surviving starvation. In C. elegans, UNC-51 regulates the axon guidance of many neurons by a different mechanism than it and its homologs use for autophagy. UNC-51 regulates the subcellular localization (trafficking) of UNC-5, a receptor for the axon guidance molecule UNC-6/Netrin; however, the molecular details of the role for UNC-51 are largely unknown. Here, we report that UNC-51 physically interacts with LET-92, the catalytic subunit of serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A-C), which plays important roles in many cellular functions. A low allelic dose of LET-92 partially suppressed axon guidance defects of weak, but not severe, unc-51 mutants, and a low allelic dose of PP2A regulatory subunits A (PAA-1/PP2A-A) and B (SUR-6/PP2A-B) partially enhanced the weak unc-51 mutants. We also found that LET-92 can work cell-non-autonomously on axon guidance in neurons, and that LET-92 colocalized with UNC-51 in neurons. In addition, PP2A dephosphorylated phosphoproteins that had been phosphorylated by UNC-51. These results suggest that, by forming a complex, PP2A cooperates with UNC-51 to regulate axon guidance by regulating phosphorylation. This is the first report of a serine/threonine protein phosphatase functioning in axon guidance in vivo.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Autophagy / genetics
  • Autophagy / physiology
  • Axonal Transport / genetics
  • Axonal Transport / physiology
  • Axons / metabolism
  • Axons / physiology*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / physiology
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / physiology*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Neurogenesis / genetics
  • Neurogenesis / physiology
  • Phosphorylation / genetics
  • Protein Binding / physiology
  • Protein Kinases / metabolism
  • Protein Kinases / physiology
  • Protein Phosphatase 2 / genetics
  • Protein Phosphatase 2 / metabolism
  • Protein Phosphatase 2 / physiology*
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / physiology*
  • Protein Subunits / genetics
  • Protein Subunits / metabolism
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Synaptic Transmission / genetics
  • Synaptic Transmission / physiology

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • Protein Subunits
  • Protein Kinases
  • UNC-51 protein, C elegans
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Protein Phosphatase 2